Landing zone indicators

ABSTRACT

A landing zone indicator system which includes a battery that is configured to power a controller and a human vision output device, a controller that is configured to control human-visible light that is output by the human vision output device, and a human vision output device where the human-visible light output by the human vision output device generates an illuminated landing zone for a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/329,476, entitled LANDING ZONE INDICATORS filed May 25, 2021, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/942,487, nowU.S. Pat. No. 11,046,457, entitled LANDING ZONE INDICATORS filed Jul.29, 2020, each of which is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

New types of aircraft are being developed which may permit personaltransportation to and from locations outside of airports. One such newtype of aircraft is an ultralight, single-seat aircraft that takes offand lands vertically. Such vehicles do not require a long runway and thesmall size of the vehicle makes it suitable for use in urban and/or moredensely populated areas where runways cannot be built. New systems whichhelp such new vehicles operate in new environments (e.g., assisting withthe safety and/or management of the vehicles) would be desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator viewed from the side.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator viewed from above.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of four on-the-groundlanding zone indicators which illuminate a square landing zone.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of co-locatedlanding zone indicators managed by a central controller.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an (e)VTOL vehiclewith an on-vehicle landing zone indicator.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to controlthe state of a human vision output device or a computer vision outputdevice based at least in part on vehicle state information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computerprogram product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or aprocessor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions storedon and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In thisspecification, these implementations, or any other form that theinvention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, theorder of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within thescope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as aprocessor or a memory described as being configured to perform a taskmay be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configuredto perform the task at a given time or a specific component that ismanufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing coresconfigured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate theprinciples of the invention. The invention is described in connectionwith such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to anyembodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims andthe invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and theinvention may be practiced according to the claims without some or allof these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

Various embodiments of a landing zone indicator are described herein. Insome embodiments, a landing zone indicator includes a battery where thebattery is configured to power a controller and a human vision outputdevice. For example, the landing zone indicator may be a portable andbattery-powered landing zone indicator that is placed on the groundwhich permits such a landing zone indicator to be deployed quickly andeasily to set up a landing zone, even in locations where there is noinfrastructure and/or easy access to power (e.g., a parking lot, a parkor field, etc.) and/or without altering or digging the ground in thatarea (e.g., for power lines, to install recessed lights in the ground,etc.). Alternatively, in some embodiments the landing zone indicator islocated on the underside of the vehicle and the battery is the vehicle's(e.g., onboard) battery.

In some embodiments, a landing zone indicator system further includes acontroller that controls the human-visible light that is output by thehuman vision output device. For example, a controller in anon-the-ground landing zone indicator may automatically communicate withan (electric) vertical takeoff and landing ((e)VTOL) vehicle andautomatically turn on the human vision output device (e.g., going from astandby power state to a fully-powered or light-emitting state when thevehicle is sufficiently close to the landing zone indicator or anintention to land at the associated landing zone has been communicated).

In some embodiments, a landing zone indicator system further includes ahuman vision output device (e.g., a lightbulb or other light-emittingdevice such as a laser, an LED, etc.), where the human-visible lightoutput by the human vision output device illuminates, defines, creates,or otherwise generates an illuminated landing zone for an (e)VTOLvehicle. For example, the human-visible light may illuminate orotherwise demark the landing zone to help a pilot in the vehicle or aperson on the ground know where the landing zone is located so that thepilot can land within the boundaries of the landing zone and/or theperson on the ground can get out of the landing zone. Without thelanding zone indicator, there may be no other indication of where thelanding zone is located and/or where the vehicle should land.

In some embodiments, a landing zone indicator is coupled or otherwiseattached to the underside of an (e)VTOL vehicle. For clarity, somelanding zone indicators are referred to herein as on-the-ground landingzone indicators whereas others are referred to as vehicle-mountedlanding zone indicators. Like an on-the-ground landing zone indicator, avehicle-mounted landing zone indicator may help to better illuminate thelanding zone for a pilot in the vehicle, or let a person on the groundknow where the vehicle will land and get out of the landing zone. Invarious embodiments, on-the-ground landing zone indicators andvehicle-mounted landing zone indicators are used separately or incombination with each other.

As will be described in more detail below, some (e)VTOL vehicles mayhave some clearance beneath the fuselage when the vehicle is on theground. As such, in at least some applications, an on-the-ground landingzone indicator does not need to be flush with the ground to preventdamage to the vehicle or the landing zone indicator if a vehicle were toland on top of the landing zone indicator. Similarly, if the landingzone indicator is an on-vehicle landing zone indicator, the clearancebeneath the fuselage permits the landing zone indicator to be attachedto that surface, if desired.

In some embodiments, an on-the-ground landing zone indicator includes acomputer vision output device that is configured to output a signal thatis received by a receiver on the vehicle and/or aids autonomous flight.For example, the output signal may be infrared light that helps toindicate the location of the landing zone for the vehicle and/or theautonomous flight controller on the vehicle. For simplicity and ease ofexplanation, some examples described herein may show landing zoneindicators that output human-visible light as well as computer visionsignals but naturally they may be used or implemented separately.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator viewed from the side. In the example shown, aportable and battery-powered landing zone indicator (100 a) is placed onthe ground and outputs human-visible signals (102 a), such ashuman-visible light, and computer vision signals (104), such as infraredsignals. In this example, human vision output components (106 a) ringthe sides of the landing zone indicator (100 a). For example, the humanvision output components (106 a) may be LEDs or other devices thatoutput or otherwise emit light in the spectrum visible to humans. Inthis example, the human vision output components (106 a) are angledslightly downward so that the human-visible signals that are outputilluminate a circle around the landing zone indicator (100 a). This mayhelp a pilot in the vehicle locate the landing zone and land the vehicle(e.g., vertically) in the landing zone illuminated or otherwiseindicated by the light from the landing zone indicator. For people onthe ground, the circular landing zone that is illuminated by the humanvision output components (106 a) may warn a person that a vehicle isabout to land and whether or not they are outside or inside the landingzone and correspondingly whether they are in a safe location or not,respectively.

In this example, the computer vision output component (108) is locatedon the top of the landing zone indicator (100 a). The computer visionsignals (104) help computer vision receivers and/or components in thevehicle locate the landing zone. Depending upon how the vehicle is flown(e.g., autonomous flight versus piloted flight), the computer visionsignals (104) may be used in a variety of ways. For example, if thevehicle is flown autonomously then in one example an autonomous flightcontroller uses the computer-visible signals to detect when the vehicleis above a landing zone indicator, stop (e.g., hover in-air), and thenperform a vertical landing on top of the landing zone indicator. Forexample, although GPS or radio-based navigation may help an autonomousflight controller get close to the landing zone, urban canyons and/orless-than-desirable GPS and/or radio-based resolution may make itdifficult to land vehicles (e.g., especially in urban areas) without theaid of a landing zone indicator which outputs computer-visible signals.

Alternatively, if the vehicle is controlled by a pilot, thecomputer-visible signals (104) may be presented or otherwise displayedto the pilot (e.g., via a display or other user interface). In oneexample, the computer-visible signals are used to indicate to a pilotwhen the vehicle is properly above the landing zone indicator. A displayin the cockpit may either indicate “in place for landing” or “not inplace for landing” so the pilot knows when to stop or whether to keepmoving the vehicle, respectively. This may, for example, be based onwhether or to what degree or amount the computer-visible signals (104)hit some sensor or receiver on the underside of an (e)VTOL vehicle. Oncethe (e)VTOL vehicle is properly positioned over the on-the-groundlanding zone indicator, the pilot may switch over to an autonomouslanding mode.

In some embodiments, when a pilot is attempting to position a VTOLvehicle above the landing zone and before the vertical landing isperformed, the computer-visible signals are used to provide feedback tothe pilot (e.g., to help them maneuver into a position above the centerof the illuminated landing zone) in the form of haptic feedback via ajoystick or other hand control. For example, a degree or amount ofvibration in a joystick or hand control may be based on the vehicle's(e.g., lateral or horizontal) distance from the center of theilluminated landing zone. In one example, as the vehicle approaches thelanding zone (e.g., at some constant altitude), the hand control willnot vibrate unless the distance between the center of the illuminatedlanding zone and the vehicle begins to increase so that a vibration inthe hand control indicates that the vehicle is moving in the wrongdirection. If the vehicle continues to move further away from the centerof the illuminated landing zone, the degree or amount of vibrationincreases. If the pilot adjusts the vehicle's direction correctly sothat the vehicle moves closer to the center of the illuminated landingzone, the degree or amount of vibration decreases.

In some applications, a pilot manually lands a vehicle once the vehicleis properly positioned above the illuminated landing zone. Thecomputer-visible signals from the landing zone indicator are beneficialin such application because they help the pilot to safely land, even inrelatively small landing zones, in dense landing zones (e.g., multiplevehicles share a landing zone), and/or with vehicles with restrictedground views, and so on. Landing without computer-visible signals mayrequire a larger landing zone and/or may be more dangerous because thelikelihood is greater that the vehicle will land where or on somethingthe vehicle is not supposed to.

In some embodiments, computer-visible signals output by an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator are angled or otherwise directed so that thesignals are detected by a sensor or receiver on the vehicle while thevehicle is flying towards the landing zone indicator (e.g., in a forwardflight mode). In one human-piloted example, computer-visible signals areused to pinpoint the location of the landing zone indicator and thatinformation is combined with current flight path or positionalinformation in a display. For example, the display may show the locationof the landing zone indicator superimposed on real-time video taken fromthe vehicle to let the pilot know what flight path adjustments (if any)to make to head towards the landing zone indicator. Or, the display mayshow the location of the landing zone indicator combined with the (e.g.,projected) flight path of the vehicle to similarly let the pilot knowwhether and/or to what degree course correction is needed. In someembodiments, a landing zone indicator is configurable or otherwiseadjustable so that the (nominal) angle at which the computer-visiblesignals are output is adjustable (e.g., between 0°-90°).

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator viewed from above. FIG. 1B continues the exampleof FIG. 1A. From this view, the circular landing zone (150) (which isilluminated or otherwise demarcated by the human-visible signals (102 b)that are output by the human vision output components (106 b) on theon-the-ground landing zone indicator (100 b)) is visible. The diameterof the circular landing zone (150) is selected to be greater than orequal to the wingspan of the (e.g., (e)VTOL) vehicle that will land inthe landing zone plus a safety margin, if desired (e.g., to account forwind gusts, signal noise, errors, etc.). In one example, the diameter ofcircular landing zone (150) is on the order of 15 feet to fit asingle-set multicopter. A person standing outside of the circularlanding zone (150) is therefore believed to be in a safe location if an(e)VTOL vehicle were to (e.g., vertically) land in the circular landingzone (150).

In some embodiments, an on-the-ground landing zone indicator is designedto be used with a variety of (e.g., (e)VTOL) vehicles with variouswingspans and/or landing zone size needs if desired. For example, alanding zone indicator may include one or more controls (e.g., buttons)that permit the size (e.g., diameter) of an illuminated landing zone tobe adjusted (e.g., press a button on the landing zone indicator totoggle or otherwise switch between multiple pre-defined landing zonesizes).

In one example application, the landing zone indicator is used toindicate or illuminate a landing zone for an (e)VTOL vehicle. If (e)VTOLvehicles are to be successfully deployed in more densely populated urbanareas, takeoff and landing locations need to be created or built up insuch urban areas. With an on-the-ground landing zone indicator (which inthis example is portable and battery powered), open spaces and areas(such as parking lots, parks, roofs of buildings, and such) may bequickly and easily converted into takeoff and landing zones for (e)VTOLvehicles. This may be attractive in places where doing construction work(e.g., to install a power supply or install lights in the ground) wouldbe expensive, time consuming, and/or prohibited.

In various embodiments, an appropriate type, number, and/or arrangementof human vision output components (106 a) is selected so that theilluminated landing zone is more clearly defined or visible, for exampleeven in bright sunlight. For example, some types of light-emittingdevices (such as lasers) may be better suited to sunlight and/or forcreating a crisper or more clearly defined perimeter.

In some embodiments, an on-the-ground landing zone indicator includescomponents or accessories (e.g., in addition to and/or separate from thehuman vision output device) to improve visibility of the illuminatedlanding zone and/or crispness of the perimeter in sunlight or to aidvisibility in some other manner. For example, an on-the-ground landingzone indicator may include a guide or shield to create a more visiblelanding zone and/or one with a more clearly-defined or crisper boundary,even in sunlight. In some embodiments, an on-the-ground landing zoneindicator includes a speaker or other audible output device. Forexample, in response to a vehicle approaching the landing zoneindicator, the speaker may be activated to sound an alarm or other alertthat alerts visually-impaired people about an impending landing. Anaudible alarm or alert may also help in sunlight when an illuminatedlanding zone is not as visible.

The landing zone indicator system shown here is merely exemplary and isnot intended to be limiting. The following figure shows anotherembodiment where multiple on-the-ground landing zone indicators are usedto illuminate and/or demarcate a square landing zone.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of four on-the-groundlanding zone indicators which illuminate a square landing zone. In thisexample, four landing zone indicators (200 a-200 d) are placed at thecorners of the illuminated square landing zone (202). In this example,each side has a length on the order of 15 feet. Each landing zoneindicator only needs to output human-visible light over a 90° range sohuman vision output components (e.g., 204) are only placed over ¼ of theon-the-ground landing zone indicators' side and the landing zoneindicators are rotated or otherwise oriented so that the emitted oroutput human-visible light is directed in the proper direction. In thisexample, each landing zone indicator also includes a computer visionoutput device (e.g., 206) on the top of the landing zone indicator. Asshown in this example, the number of on-the-ground landing zoneindicators used and the shape of the (illuminated) landing zone may varyacross embodiments. In some embodiments, the shape of the shape of the(illuminated) landing zone is an outline of the vehicle (e.g., to betterconvey that a vehicle is going to land in that area, particularly if thevehicle is not yet audible).

As shown in this example, in some embodiments an illuminated landingzone includes a polygon-shaped landing zone where on-the-ground landingzone indicators are located at the vertices (i.e., corners) of thepolygon-shaped landing zone. In some applications, having on-the-groundlanding zone indicators at the vertices of a polygon-shaped landing zoneis desirable because the illuminated landing zone may be more visible indaylight and/or the perimeter of the illuminated landing zone may besharper and/or clearer. In some applications, it is desirable to haveon-the-ground landing zone indicators at the vertices of apolygon-shaped landing zone because it reduces the likelihood of avehicle landing on one of the landing zone indicators and causing damageto the vehicle and/or the landing zone indicator.

In some applications, it may be desirable to have multiple (e)VTOLvehicles take off and land from the same area. The following figureshows an exemplary system diagram that supports this scenario.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of co-locatedlanding zone indicators managed by a central controller. In thisexample, there are two on-the-ground landing zone indicators (300 a and300 b) to permit multiple (e)VTOL vehicles (not shown) to take off andland from the same general area simultaneously. Each landing zoneindicator includes a battery (302 a and 302 b) and a controller (304 aand 304 b) which power and control (respectively) one or more humanvision transmitters, emitters, or output devices (306 a and 306 b) andone or more computer vision transmitters, emitters, or output devices(308 a and 308 b). In some embodiments, the batteries (302 a and 302 b)are rechargeable batteries where the landing zone indicators (300 a and300 b) have a plug or port where the batteries can be recharged. Forexample, landing zone indicators with low batteries may be collected,recharged, and then returned to the area where the landing zones arelocated.

To manage the shared space and indicate which landing zone a givenvehicle should land in, the on-the-ground landing zone indicators (300 aand 300 b) are able to toggle or otherwise switch between differenthuman-visible lights and computer-visible lights so that each emits orotherwise outputs unique and/or distinguishable signals. In thisexample, the two illuminated landing zones (not shown) are illuminatedusing different colors. A pilot may be instructed to land in the redlanding zone or the blue landing zone (as an example) and looks for andlands in the landing zone illuminated with the correct color. In someembodiments, the human-visible lights output or otherwise displaydifferent words, images, and/or alphanumeric text (for convenience,referred to collectively as symbols). In one example, the illuminatedlanding zones are labeled with different numbers (e.g., 1, 2, etc. (todifferentiate between them)). In some embodiments, certain colors orsymbols are used to indicate the landing state of the various landingzones. For example, red light or the word “closed” may be used toindicate that a particular illuminated landing zone is not available forlanding whereas green light or the word “open” may be used to indicatethat a particular landing zone is available for landing. In someembodiments, the color, description, etc. is used for ground or airtraffic control purposes (e.g., to only let one vehicle be active or inmotion in the area at a time to avoid collisions).

The controllers (304 a and 304 b) may be implemented in a variety ofways to control or configure the human vision output device(s) to emitthe appropriate color (or, more generally, human-visible light). In oneimplementation, a technician presses buttons (or some other controlinterface) on the first landing zone indicator (300 a), the controlsignals of which are passed to the first controller (304 a) which inturn controls the human vision output device(s) (306 a), to togglethrough various colors until the first landing zone indicator (300 a) isdisplaying the appropriate color (e.g., red). This is repeated on thesecond landing zone indicator (300 b) until the appropriate color (e.g.,blue) is displayed.

Similarly, the first computer vision output devices(s) (308 a) output aunique or distinguishable infrared signal (e.g., different frequenciesof infrared light, different patterns of “blinking” or on-off sequencesof infrared light, etc.) compared to the second computer vision outputdevices(s) (308 b). This permits a computer vision receiver, sensor, orprocessor on a vehicle to identify which landing zone a particularvehicle should land at, or which landing zone to display to a pilot thatthey should land at.

In some embodiments, the uniquification of the human-visible lightoutput by the human vision output device(s) (306 a and 306 b) andcomputer vision signals output by the computer vision output device(s)(308 a and 308 b) is performed automatically. In one example, as eachlanding zone indicator is powered on, each controller may wirelesslyscan or otherwise search for other landing zone indicators in thevicinity and identify what colors have already been claimed. Thecontroller may then select an unclaimed output signal (e.g., color) thatis not currently being output by any other landing zone indicator. Thisis merely one example and a variety of techniques may be used so thatcontrollers in landing zone indicators are able to determine what typesor variations of human-visible light and/or computer vision signals arebeing used and which ones are not being used.

In some embodiments, an on-vehicle and/or on-the-ground landing zoneindicator may be used at takeoff. For example, at night, it may behelpful to illuminate the ground to aid a person getting into thevehicle and one or both types of landing zone indicators may be used forthis purpose. Or, if there is more than one vehicle at that location,one or both types of landing zone indicators may be used to indicatewhich vehicle a person should get into. In one example, one landing zoneis illuminated using the corresponding on-vehicle and/or on-the-groundlanding zone indicator(s) while the landing zone indicator(s) for theother landing zone are off and do not illuminate that landing zone. Or,if there are multiple people simultaneously getting into vehicles, thelanding zones may be illuminated in different colors where each personis told which color landing zone they should go to and get into thevehicle there.

In some embodiments, the underside of an (e)VTOL vehicle has anon-vehicle landing zone indicator. The following figure shows an exampleof this.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an (e)VTOL vehiclewith an on-vehicle landing zone indicator. In this example, the (e)VTOLvehicle (400) is an unoccupied, autonomously flown vehicle that is inthe process of performing a vertical landing. The relatively small sizeof the (e)VTOL vehicle and its vertical takeoff and landing capabilitiespermit the vehicle to land in relatively small places and/or in moredensely populated urban environments. As described above, the (e)VTOLvehicle may be landing in a parking lot, in a park, or on the rooftop ofa building.

In this example, two on-vehicle landing zone indicators (402) arelocated or otherwise disposed on the underside of booms (403) betweenthe fuselage (404) and floats (410). The landing zone indicators includeone or more human vision output devices (not shown) that outputhuman-vision lights (406) which in turn illuminate a landing zone (408)on the ground. In some embodiments, controllers (not shown) in theon-vehicle landing zone indicators (402) control the human vision outputdevices based on the state (or, more generally, location or altitude) ofthe vehicle. For example, it would be undesirable to illuminate an areathat is not the intended or desired landing zone for that vehicle. Tothat end, in some embodiments, while the vehicle is operating in aforward flight mode (e.g., at constant altitude and moving within ahorizontal plane searching for the proper position directly above theproper or desired landing zone), the on-vehicle landing zone indicators(402) are off or otherwise not emitting or outputting any human-visiblelight until the vehicle is over the proper or desired landing, at whichpoint a controller turns on the human vision output device(s).

A controller may continue to adjust or change the state or settings ofthe human vision output device(s) and/or the computer vision outputdevice(s) even after the vehicle is hovering above the proper or desiredlanding zone, based on the vehicle's altitude (or, more generally, thevehicle's state). In one example, the landing zone indicators (402)output different colors depending upon the altitude of the vehicle. Athigher altitudes, the landing zone indicators (402) output yellow ororange light (as an example) so that the landing zone (408) isilluminated with a color associated with a warning or caution and atlower altitudes outputs red so that the illuminated landing zone (408)is illuminated with a color associated with danger.

In various embodiments, a variety of techniques and/or components may beused to keep the size and/or shape of the illuminated landing zone (408)relatively constant as the vehicle lands. In some embodiments, the humanvision output devices are able to be tilted or adjusted and the angle ofthe human vision output devices is adjusted as the vehicle descends. Insome embodiments, one or more shutters are adjusted so that a circularaperture gradually opens as the vehicle descends to keep the size of theilluminated landing zone (408) relatively constant.

In some embodiments, an on-vehicle landing zone indicator includes oneor more computer-vision output devices. For example, the computer visionsignals output by an on-vehicle landing zone indicator may reflect backoff the ground and/or off an on-the-ground landing zone indicator andthe reflected computer vision signals are received by a computer visionsensor or receiver on the vehicle to help land a vehicle properly in thelanding zone.

In various embodiments, an on-vehicle landing zone indicator is poweredfrom a variety of sources. In some cases, an on-vehicle landing zoneindicator is an aftermarket system and/or it is undesirable to drill ahole in the skin of the vehicle to power the landing zone indicatorusing the vehicle's battery so the on-vehicle landing zone indicator hasits own battery. For example, the (e)VTOL vehicle shown here (400) iscapable of taking off from and landing on water and drilling a hole inthe vehicle may be undesirable. In such an embodiment, an on-vehiclelanding zone indicator with an internal battery may be desirable toavoid the need to drill a hole into the vehicle. Alternatively, alanding zone indicator may be powered using the vehicle's on-boardbatteries. For example, the (e)VTOL vehicle shown here (400) stores itsbatteries in the floats (410) and the positioning of the landing zoneindicators relatively close to the floats may shorten the wiring betweenthe batteries in the floats and the landing zone indicators, which isdesirable.

Although this example shows on-vehicle landing zone indicators withoutan on-the-ground landing zone indicator, the two types of landing zoneindicators may be used in combination with each other if desired. Forexample, even if an on-the-ground landing zone indicator were used, thevehicle (400) rests on two floats (410) so that the fuselage (404) iselevated when the (e)VTOL vehicle (400) is on the ground. As a result ofthis clearance between the on-vehicle landing zone indicator (402) andthe ground, neither the on-the-ground landing zone indicator nor thevehicle would be damaged (even) if the on-the-ground landing zoneindicator had a not-insubstantial height (e.g., on the order of 6inches) and the vehicle landed directly on top of the on-the-groundlanding zone indicator. To put it another way, it may be desirable touse on-the-ground landing zone indicators in combination with vehiclesthat have some clearance between the fuselage and the ground when on theground.

In some embodiments where on-vehicle and on-the-ground landing zoneindicators are used together, the controllers communicate with eachother. For example, a controller in an on-vehicle landing zone indicatormay periodically transmit the altitude or position of the vehicle (e.g.,relative to the ground or the on-the-ground landing zone indicators) andthe controller in the on-the-ground landing zone indicator uses thisinformation to control its human vision output device(s) and/or itscomputer vision output device(s). For example, a controller in anon-the-ground landing zone indicator may use the distance or altitude ofthe vehicle to turn on lights in the on-the-ground landing zoneindicators and/or change the color of lights output by an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator.

In one of the examples described above, the color of the human-visiblelight output by an on-the-ground landing zone indicator changesdepending upon the altitude of the vehicle (e.g., relative to theon-the-ground landing zone indicator) as the vehicle is landing. Thefollowing figure describes this process more formally and/or generally.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process to controlthe state of a human vision output device or a computer vision outputdevice based at least in part on vehicle state information. In someembodiments, the process is performed by a controller in a landing zoneindicator. In various embodiments, the process is performed by anon-the-ground landing zone indicator or an on-vehicle landing zoneindicator.

At 500, state information associated with the VTOL vehicle is received.In some embodiments, the state information is a state or mode associatedwith the vehicle's flight, such as flight speed or a state that a flightcontroller is in (e.g., forward flight mode, hover mode, an automatedlanding mode, etc.). In some embodiments, the state information is thealtitude of the vehicle or the distance of the vehicle from anon-the-ground landing zone indicator.

At 502, a state associated with the landing zone indicator is determinedbased at least in part on the state information associated with the VTOLvehicle. For example, the state may be a physical state, such as anangle that a computer vision output device should be oriented in (e.g.,where the angle or orientation of the computer vision output device iscontrolled by an actuator). In some embodiments, the state is a stateassociated with a characteristic or property of human-visible light or acomputer vision signal that is output by a human vision output device ora computer vision output device, respectively. One example is whether toturn on one of the output devices, or a color or other property of thelight or signal that is output.

At 504, at least one of the human vision output device or the computervision output device is configured to be in the state. For example,using the first landing zone indicator (300 a) in FIG. 3 as an example,the controller (304 a) would configure its human vision output device(s)(306 a) and/or the computer vision output device(s) (308 a) to be in thedetermined state.

At 506, it is determined whether to end the process. For example, theprocess may continue until some state is reached. In one example, alanding is being performed and the process ends when the vehicle haslanded. In some embodiments, it is determined to end the process at step506 after a certain amount of time has elapsed. For example, to savepower, an on-the-ground landing zone indicator may turn off and/or entera low power state after a certain amount of time has elapsed. If theprocess does not end, then (e.g., new or updated) state information isreceived at step 500.

It may be helpful to illustrate some specific examples of FIG. 5 . Inone example, the landing zone indicator is an on-the-ground landing zoneindicator and to save power the human vision output device(s) andcomputer vision output device(s) are kept in a low(er) power state untila landing is imminent. In some embodiments, a controller in theon-the-ground landing zone indicator periodically scans or checks for acommunication from a controller in an on-vehicle landing zone indicatorthat indicates the vehicle is nearby and will land in its landing zone(e.g., there may be multiple landing zones in the area and a vehicle mayland in another landing zone). If such a communication is received ordetected (e.g., where the vehicle is in a “nearby will land in mylanding zone” state), the controller on the ground turns on the humanvision output device(s) and computer vision output device(s) on theground.

Or, the landing zone indicator may be an on-vehicle landing zoneindicator. Suppose that a flight controller in the vehicle has differentstates associated with different flight modes or flight operations andone such state or mode is an autonomous landing mode (e.g., a state ormode in which the flight controller runs instructions or processesassociated with performing an autonomous vertical landing). In someapplications it is desirable to have an autonomous process perform thelanding because it is safer than having a pilot (who may beinexperienced and/or distracted) perform the landing. In one example,when the flight controller is in such an autonomous landing mode orstate, the controller in the on-vehicle landing zone indicator turns onits human vision output device(s) and/or computer vision outputdevice(s).

In another example, the landing zone indicator is an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator and the state information associated with theVTOL vehicle is the altitude of the vehicle. It is assumed that thevehicle is hovering above the on-the-ground landing zone indicator. Whenthe vehicle is above some altitude threshold, the human vision outputdevice(s) output(s) yellow or orange light to illuminate the landingzone. When the vehicle descends below the altitude threshold, the humanvision output device(s) output(s) red light to illuminate the landingzone.

In yet another example, the landing zone indicator is an on-the-groundlanding zone indicator and the state information associated with theVTOL vehicle is position of the vehicle relative to the on-the-groundlanding zone indicator. In this example, the computer vision outputdevice is configured to rotate and continually provide a computer visionsignal as the vehicle (e.g., in a forward flight mode, flying at aconstant altitude) approaches the on-the-ground landing zone, and alsowhile the VTOL vehicle lands vertically (e.g., the computer visionoutput device begins at some angle θ and then rotates to a vertical 90°angle). Depending upon the position or location of the vehicle, thecomputer vision output device(s) is/are rotated accordingly (e.g., bycontrolling an actuator which in turn controls the orientation of thecomputer vision output device(s)).

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limitedto the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. (canceled)
 2. A landing zone indicator system,comprising: a battery, wherein the battery is configured to power acontroller and a human vision output device; the controller, wherein thecontroller is configured to control human-visible light that is outputby the human vision output device; a computer vision output device thatis configured to output a computer vision signal; and the human visionoutput device, wherein the human-visible light output by the humanvision output device generates an illuminated landing zone for avertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle.
 3. The landing zoneindicator system recited in claim 1, wherein: the landing zone indicatorsystem further includes an on-the-ground landing zone indicator system;and the illuminated landing zone includes a circular landing zone andthe on-the-ground landing zone indicator system is located at a centerof the circular landing zone.
 4. The landing zone indicator systemrecited in claim 1, wherein: the landing zone indicator system furtherincludes an on-the-ground landing zone indicator system; and theilluminated landing zone includes a polygon-shaped landing zone and theon-the-ground landing zone indicator system is located at a vertex ofthe polygon-shaped landing zone.
 5. The landing zone indicator systemrecited in claim 1, wherein the landing zone indicator system furtherincludes an on-vehicle landing zone indicator system.
 6. The landingzone indicator system recited in claim 1, wherein: the illuminatedlanding zone is a first illuminated landing zone in a plurality ofilluminated landing zones; the first illuminated landing zone isgenerated by human-visible light output having a first property; and asecond illuminated landing zone in the plurality of illuminated landingzones is generated by human-visible light output having a secondproperty that is different from the first property.
 7. The landing zoneindicator system recited in claim 1, wherein: the illuminated landingzone is a first illuminated landing zone in a plurality of illuminatedlanding zones; the first illuminated landing zone is generated byhuman-visible light output having a first property; a second illuminatedlanding zone in the plurality of illuminated landing zones is generatedby human-visible light output having a second property that is differentfrom the first property; and the first property and the second propertyinclude a first color and a second color, respectively.
 8. The landingzone indicator system recited in claim 1, wherein: the illuminatedlanding zone is a first illuminated landing zone in a plurality ofilluminated landing zones; the first illuminated landing zone isgenerated by human-visible light output having a first property; asecond illuminated landing zone in the plurality of illuminated landingzones is generated by human-visible light output having a secondproperty that is different from the first property; and the firstproperty and the second property include a first symbol and a secondsymbol, respectively.
 9. The landing zone indicator system recited inclaim 1, wherein: the landing zone indicator system further includes thecomputer vision output device that is configured to output the computervision signal; and the controller is further configured to: receivestate information associated with the VTOL vehicle; determine a stateassociated with the landing zone indicator system based at least in parton the state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; and configureat least one of the human vision output device or the computer visionoutput device to be in the state.
 10. The landing zone indicator systemrecited in claim 1, wherein: the landing zone indicator system furtherincludes the computer vision output device that is configured to outputthe computer vision signal; and the controller is further configured to:receive state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; determine astate associated with the landing zone indicator system based at leastin part on the state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; andconfigure at least one of the human vision output device or the computervision output device to be in the state, wherein: the state informationassociated with the VTOL vehicle includes a flight controller in theVTOL vehicle being in an autonomous landing mode; and configuringincludes turning on at least one of the human vision output device orthe computer vision output device.
 11. The landing zone indicator systemrecited in claim 1, wherein: the landing zone indicator system furtherincludes the computer vision output device that is configured to outputthe computer vision signal; and the controller is further configured to:receive state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; determine astate associated with the landing zone indicator system based at leastin part on the state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; andconfigure at least one of the human vision output device or the computervision output device to be in the state, wherein: the state informationassociated with the VTOL vehicle includes a distance between the VTOLvehicle and the landing zone indicator system; and configuring includeschanging the human vision output device from outputting human-visiblelight having a first color to outputting human-visible light having asecond color.
 12. A method, comprising: using a battery to power acontroller and a human vision output device, wherein the battery, thecontroller, and the human vision output device are included in a landingzone indicator system; using the controller to control human-visiblelight that is output by the human vision output device; using a computervision output device that is configured to output a computer visionsignal; and using the human vision output device to generate anilluminated landing zone for a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)vehicle using the human-visible light output by the human vision outputdevice.
 13. The method recited in claim 12, wherein: the landing zoneindicator system further includes an on-the-ground landing zoneindicator system; and the illuminated landing zone includes a circularlanding zone and the on-the-ground landing zone indicator system islocated at a center of the circular landing zone.
 14. The method recitedin claim 12, wherein: the landing zone indicator system further includesan on-the-ground landing zone indicator system; and the illuminatedlanding zone includes a polygon-shaped landing zone and theon-the-ground landing zone indicator system is located at a vertex ofthe polygon-shaped landing zone.
 15. The method recited in claim 12,wherein the landing zone indicator system further includes an on-vehiclelanding zone indicator system.
 16. The method recited in claim 12,wherein: the illuminated landing zone is a first illuminated landingzone in a plurality of illuminated landing zones; the first illuminatedlanding zone is generated by human-visible light output having a firstproperty; and a second illuminated landing zone in the plurality ofilluminated landing zones is generated by human-visible light outputhaving a second property that is different from the first property. 17.The method recited in claim 12, wherein: the illuminated landing zone isa first illuminated landing zone in a plurality of illuminated landingzones; the first illuminated landing zone is generated by human-visiblelight output having a first property; a second illuminated landing zonein the plurality of illuminated landing zones is generated byhuman-visible light output having a second property that is differentfrom the first property; and the first property and the second propertyinclude a first color and a second color, respectively.
 18. The methodrecited in claim 12, wherein: the illuminated landing zone is a firstilluminated landing zone in a plurality of illuminated landing zones;the first illuminated landing zone is generated by human-visible lightoutput having a first property; a second illuminated landing zone in theplurality of illuminated landing zones is generated by human-visiblelight output having a second property that is different from the firstproperty; and the first property and the second property include a firstsymbol and a second symbol, respectively.
 19. The method recited inclaim 12, wherein: the landing zone indicator system further includesthe computer vision output device that is configured to output thecomputer vision signal; and the controller is further configured to:receive state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; determine astate associated with the landing zone indicator system based at leastin part on the state information associated with the VTOL vehicle; andconfigure at least one of the human vision output device or the computervision output device to be in the state.